Andrea Thau, OD
BOSTON—The American Optometric Association (AOA) elected new officers and board members at the House of Delegates meeting during Optometry’s Meeting held here last week.

Andrea P. Thau, OD, of New York was elected president, the second woman to hold that office at the organization. President-elect is Christopher J. Quinn, OD, of New Jersey. Vice president is Samuel D. Pierce, OD, of Alabama, and secretary-treasurer is Barbara L. Horn, OD, of Michigan and South Carolina. Robert C. Layman, OD, of Ohio, was re-elected as trustee. Newly elected trustees included Jacqueline Bowen, OD, of Colorado and Steven T. Reed, OD, of Mississippi.

Thau served a previous term as president-elect and has been on the board since 2007. She is a Fellow of the American Academy of Optometry, a Fellow of the College of Optometrists in Vision Development, a Distinguished Practitioner on the National Academies of Practice and a Diplomate of the American Board of Optometry. A graduate of the SUNY College of Optometry, she has been on faculty since graduation and is an associate clinical professor and former chair of the Admissions Committee.

Prior to her election to the Board, Thau served as the first woman president of the New York State Optometric Association, the New York Academy of Optometry and the Optometric Society of the City of New York. She served concurrently as president of the New York Academy, president of the Optometric Society of the City of New York and as an officer of the New York State Optometric Association.

Dr. Thau was a former member of the Executive Board of the College of Optometrists in Vision Development. She is a founding member of the AOA's InfantSEE committee which developed the InfantSEE program and was a member of multiple AOA committees including the AOA Pediatrics and Binocular Vision Committee, the Infants' Vision Project Team and the Faculty Relations Committee. Thau is the recipient of numerous awards including the 2005 New York State Optometrist of the Year, SUNY Optometry Alumna of the Year and was recognized twice among Vision Monday's Most Influential Women in Optical.

Dr. Thau is the owner of a four doctor group private practice on Park Avenue in Manhattan. The practice is a full-scope primary care practice with special emphasis on children's vision and vision therapy.

"I am honored to be inaugurated as president of the American Optometric Association," said Dr. Thau, who thanked several groups for their support. "It's a trust that I don't take lightly, and I have a dedication to really want to help advance our profession. I think each one of us has to be able to contribute back to our profession at the highest level that we possibly can."

The AOA House of Delegates adopted a resolution introduced earlier in the week pertaining to optometry's scope of practice and optometric education standards.

Presented by the Optometry Association of Louisiana, the resolution spurs AOA to develop a new, model state optometric practice act that would, ideally, allow doctors of optometry to treat all medical eye conditions by any appropriate method, including new and efficacious services and products as they become available. The House of Delegates further encouraged individual state associations to continue working toward modifying and modernizing their state optometric practice acts.

Additionally, the resolution directs AOA to report progress on this matter at the 2017 session. Delegates adopted this resolution Thursday, passing it along for the Judicial Council's review before becoming effective.